Manchester City playmaker Phil Foden said his team cannot afford to play again as they did against Leeds if they want to compete with Arsenal.
Phil Foden says Manchester City cannot afford to play like they did against Leeds
Phil Foden warned his Manchester City teammates that they are going to ‘lose the league’ if they play again like they did against Leeds. The Blues closed the gap at the top of the Premier League table to four points but needed an injury-time winner from Foden to down Daniel Farke’s side.
As much relief as there was around the Etihad at full-time, there was also an acceptance that City must improve if they are to push an Arsenal side who have had an ominously strong start to the campaign. That view was shared in the City dressing room, with Foden not dressing up the improvements that are needed in the squad.
City’s No.47 did offer the caveat that it was harder for the team coming on the back of consecutive defeats to Newcastle and Leverkusen that have wiped out the momentum. As they lost their heads in the second half against Leeds, a sneaky tactical time-out allowed Guardiola to give them the instructions that would ultimately help them win the game.
The players know that more is needed though, and Foden was clear afterwards about the jump that is required. “To be honest, we really struggled. We just have to give them the credit when it’s due. We got together with the manager at the side of the pitch and we changed a few things because we couldn’t figure out what was going on,” he said.
“But from that moment when we spoke to the manager, we changed the way we press and the way we played. I think we became more relaxed again. We grew into the game and then we started putting them on the back foot.
“Obviously, from our own performance, it wasn’t good enough from start to finish. We know that. But sometimes it’s like that when you come off the back of two defeats. For whatever reason, it’s so much more difficult to get the three points when you come off the back of defeats. We knew that.
“But today wasn’t about the way we played or how we performed. It was just for us about getting the win because we just wanted to feel how we used to feel with the three points. In the end, we managed to nick it.
“We have to work on things and get things better because when the opponents get better in the later stages of the season, we can’t afford to come out like this because we’re going to lose the league. We have to put things right and get better and just work hard on the training pitch.”